The invention generally relates to a seismic streamer platform.
Seismic exploration involves surveying subterranean geological formations for hydrocarbon deposits. A survey typically involves deploying seismic source(s) and seismic sensors at predetermined locations. The sources generate seismic waves, which propagate into the geological formations creating pressure changes and vibrations along their way. Changes in elastic properties of the geological formation scatter the seismic waves, changing their direction of propagation and other properties. Part of the energy that is emitted by the sources reaches the seismic sensors. Some seismic sensors are sensitive to pressure changes (hydrophones), others to particle motion (e.g., geophones), and industrial surveys may deploy only one type of sensors or both. In response to the detected seismic events, the sensors generate electrical signals to produce seismic data. Analysis of the seismic data can then indicate the presence or absence of probable locations of hydrocarbon deposits.
Some surveys are known as “marine” surveys because they are conducted in marine environments. However, “marine” surveys may be conducted not only in saltwater environments, but also in fresh and brackish waters. In one type of marine survey, called a “towed-array” survey, an array of seismic sensor-containing streamers and sources is towed behind a survey vessel.
A particular marine survey may involve towing a pressure and particle motion sensors on one or more streamers behind a surface vessel. The particular motion sensors typically are sensitive to vibration noise. In directions that are transverse to the inline axis along the streamer cable, the vibration propagates at velocities much lower than the acoustic velocity of sound in water, and therefore, the vibration noise typically has been determinative of the sensor spacing along the streamer in order to fully record seismic data that does not contain aliased vibration noise.